Ethanol from cellulose makes progress but faces challenges

MIT Technology Review : By 2014, more than a dozen plants that create ethanol fuel from wood chips, corn stalks, and other sources of cellulose will be operating in the US. The growth of the industry was mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. However, despite those mandates, the difficulty of commercializing the technology has delayed cellulosic ethanol’s arrival on the market. None of the plants scheduled to open will produce nearly as much ethanol as currently operating ethanol-from-corn plants. The 2007 mandate had set a target of 1 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol to be produced this year, but the Environmental Protection Agency had reduced the goal to just 6 million gallons. The agency will likely have to reduce the 1.75 billion gallon target for 2014 as well. Even at expected production levels next year, cellulosic ethanol will still be more expensive than either corn ethanol or gasoline. And it will likely never be cheaper than corn ethanol. Both houses of Congress are considering whether to eliminate or change the mandate for the expansion of cellulosic ethanol.